iLOK warning

[ghettosynth]

I'll just retreat from the conversation

That's the best idea that you've had yet. I'm not trying to be as rude as you might perceive. It's just tedious to read yet another shit-stained, because you pulled it out of your ass, opinion on why dumbfucks who can't afford a dongle don't like iLok. We're a bit tired of the endless whining. If you don't like it, then buy something that you do like. Stop trying to warn everyone about the evil that isn't an evil but just a necessity that is too pricey for the ultra-poors.

[wayford]

That's the best idea that you've had yet. I'm not trying to be as rude as you might perceive. It's just tedious to read yet another shit-stained, because you pulled it out of your ass, opinion on why dumbfucks who can't afford a dongle don't like iLok. We're a bit tired of the endless whining. If you don't like it, then buy something that you do like. Stop trying to warn everyone about the evil that isn't an evil but just a necessity that is too pricey for the ultra-poors.

I wasn’t warning anyone about anything.

Maybe my English skills are far from perfect (it’s not my mother tongue after all), but I think I clearly expressed the possible reasons why iLok works the way it does.

Also, regarding dongles, someone might just not want a dongle, even if they can buy it.

And I still don’t understand why you’re acting quite mean towards me.

[ghettosynth]

That's the best idea that you've had yet. I'm not trying to be as rude as you might perceive. It's just tedious to read yet another shit-stained, because you pulled it out of your ass, opinion on why dumbfucks who can't afford a dongle don't like iLok. We're a bit tired of the endless whining. If you don't like it, then buy something that you do like. Stop trying to warn everyone about the evil that isn't an evil but just a necessity that is too pricey for the ultra-poors.

I wasn’t warning anyone about anything.

The thread is entitled "ilok warning."

[wayford]

The thread is entitled "ilok warning."

Right, I didn’t find any other thread fit for that post. Apologies.

[mesamask]

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You gotta be the dumbest person on this planet.
Maybe you're drunk, but that still wouldn't be a good excuse for your behavior.

Apart from all the bullsh*t you're saying, plus the rudeness and offensiveness you're displaying, this one really stands out:

... We're a bit tired of the endless whining. ...

Who the f*ck is "We"? Are you Gollum?
Or do you really think you are the voice for anyone else lmao, what a jerk.

Take your dongle and put it into the place where it belongs to. Enjoy.

[Alexander_D]

I was created my Ilok account in this year..at this moment I have only Soothe 2, two plugins of Softube and Soundtoys bundle. No dongle. But now I know that before updating Bios probably better to deactivate the licenses... anyway I don't want to purchase something new on Ilok... it's really not perfect protection IMHO... of course I love Soundtoys and soothe but maybe soon we will see alternative plugins without Ilok system. It's much easy...

[yoursoul]

the fact that they ask 25$ for a license transfer should be reason enough to avoid those greedy f**kers, even if you dont plan to resell a product in the first place.

[Morty-C-137]

the fact that they ask 25$ for a license transfer should be reason enough to avoid those greedy f**kers, even if you dont plan to resell a product in the first place.

That’s the only thing I dislike about iLok. But then again I also just don’t resell plugins anymore. Prices have come down so much (never buy full price) that it’s just not worth the bother anymore. Just write it off.

[rj0]

Over many years (and many computers) I've had to work with a number of USB license dongles (not just iLok) for some very expensive software (personal and business), and have yet to have a dongle break (the USB software can occasionally need to be dealt with, but the dongles themselves have continued to work). I treat the dongles carefully as one should with valuables. In the meantime, I've dealt with many, many computer issues that otherwise messed with other types of licenses. YMMV

[careyletendre]

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You gotta be the dumbest person on this planet.

Or do you really think you are the voice for anyone else lmao, what a jerk.

People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

[BBFG#]

OR... People with glass pipes shouldn't smoke rocks.
And I haven't read enough of anyone's comments to know who is throwing or smoking what.

[mesamask]

People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

I get your point and it is valid.
Unfortunately there are cases where you need to fight fire with fire. You probably won't survive when somebody attacks you with a shotgun, and all you got is a spoon.
I'm not a fan of my own wordings, but considering the context I still think it was appropriate.

[yoursoul]

the fact that they ask 25$ for a license transfer should be reason enough to avoid those greedy f**kers, even if you dont plan to resell a product in the first place.

That’s the only thing I dislike about iLok. But then again I also just don’t resell plugins anymore. Prices have come down so much (never buy full price) that it’s just not worth the bother anymore. Just write it off.

because you are probably financially stable and not in a situation where you need to collect money by selling things. but its still wasted money for others + principially unjustified and a reasonable decision to not support that system in the first place.

there are many good companies and tools who dont go this way, so its easy to avoid and good to always warn about ilok-fees and other problems, so naive people (like me) dont buy blindly without knowing.

i personally wasted some money and am sitting on a plugin that i cant even gift someone now. thats stupid, but dont worry, personally i wrote it off for me by now.

[t.o.t.s.]

Not sure if I've chimed in on this thread previously or not but I can't remember so I'll just say whatever cuz it's late and I'm not tired yet. The "warning" stuff about iLok is def tiring and in a lot of cases ill-informed (not always). Personally I've used iLok since around 2005 on both Apple and WIndows. I also manage multi-seat licenses for around 200+ users. Unquestionably in my time doing this the cloud implementation of iLok causes TONS of issues on both platforms as it's just so unforgiving when it fails and for the end user, depending on skill level and familiarity with accessing things like our VPN to retrieve licenses, it's clunky in addition to being pretty unreliable. There's a lot of points of failure and failure has been, in multiple institutions, pretty common. To a lesser extend but still more than I'd like to see, there have been numerous machine authorized devices that have had frustrating failures than have been, at times, difficult or timely to resolve. It's a drag and I don't recommend to anyone, those authorization methods if they have critical work and an income based around it. That being said, I have never once had a physical dongle failure on Windows or Apple. This is spanning all generations of iLok and of course several OS on both platforms. I think that's a strong testament to it's reliability and overall rate of success as compared to other methods.

I have a ton of students who initially don't prefer a dongle, or a USB hub but in the end, after using alternatives... if they wan't an iLok licensed product, there's a reliable way and other methods with significantly higher rates of failure. Most of them end up preferring the reliable way because their livelihoods depend on it... OR circumvent the issue by using tons of other products that don't need those methods.

That being said, for those of us making a living off of this stuff, you often use the tools that specific jobs require. Sometimes you HAVE to work on certain platforms and sometimes you have to use specific plugins because you are picking up something started by someone else or they just prefer to have some kind of in-house consistency. It just is what it is. What I personally prefer isn't often what I get to do.

So it just seems all of the declaratives muddle the conversation, end up yielding inflamed responses, and solve nothing but I suppose that's the internet for you. My only point is that needs vary for users, having some empathy around that isn't the worst thing and that iLok, like any tool, when used in the the most optimum way possible, works as well as any other tool... on Apple and WIndows.

In terms of cost, iLok isn't that much in the whole scheme of things if you are doing this for work but for more creative endeavors, there's most nothing iLok licensed that isn't imminently replaceable by something else (always a few exceptions) but if it's for creative fun just skip the entirety of it if it doesn't work for ya'. No harm no foul. No point in making false statements though for people interested in using it. If this is your job though? Eat the cost and move on.

Happy Halloween y'all!

[mesamask]

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Thanks a lot for those insights, very much appreciated!
Reports from folks with longtime and everyday experience with iLok are very valuable contributions. (As opposed to certain others... )

Happy Halloween to you, too!